LogFAQs > #949509656

75. Portal (PC, 2007)

I mean, not putting it in here somewhere would be an act of malfeasance.

74. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (Gamecube, 2002)

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle didn't fix everything that was wrong with Sonic Adventure or Sonic Adventure 2, but it did improve upon those games significantly. I don't really have a lot to say about SA2:B, other than it is probably the Sonic game I've put the most time into, and that is why it's here. I never owned a Sega console, so I missed out on a lot of those until way later, and never developed a particular fondness for them. But SA2:B was fun, varied in its gameplay, and charming. And the music, of course, remains its lasting legacy.

73. Trauma Center: Under the Knife / Second Opinion (DS/Wii, 2005/2006)

A game so nice, they made it twice. Under the Knife was a sort of unexpected hit for the DS in 2005. The gist of it is that it's equal parts visual novel and WarioWare-esque surgical simulation. The game's story is told through static animation scenes a la every visual novel ever, and the gameplay is you, as surgeon Derek Stiles, using your stylus, switching between tools and performing various surgical maneuvers to beat the clock. The faster and more accurate you go, the better your score. It's extraordinarily nerve-wracking and extraordinarily satisfying.

Second Opinion is essentially the same game, but overhauled for the Wii launch. It's graphically more engaging, and the Wiimote controls offer a different take on the surgeries that is still as rewarding as it is tense. I sort of fell off the series after these two, but I know subsequent games are just as beloved in some corners as these two.

72. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64, 2000)


Kirby 64, maybe the last great game of the N64's lifespan, proved that Kirby, like Mario and Zelda before it, could make the leap from 2D to 3D with ease and with creativity. Like those two series, Kirby's ability to reinvent himself (and for the series to reinvent itself) while remaining familiar has been crucial to his long-term appeal, while other series' inability to do that has left them by the wayside. This might be the bleakest entry in the Kirby series, which has historically melded vibrant and charming visuals with dark, weird undertones, and this game came out just as I was hitting an age where I could really appreciate that contrast. It's not a particularly difficult game, but it is one of the most memorable and appealing.

71. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (PS2, 2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHw18akJtgs&list=PLgZLkKtuVCo2dLyKyto47aEz3WSwKEHGC&index=2
THPS4 is, as has been mentioned, the most expansive, bizarre and at times surreal of the original Tony Hawk games. The shift from the timed career mode to the untimed open world concept shifted the game from an arcade-esque style to a more platformer-esque one, and the series was all the more interesting and exciting (and at times frustrating) for it.

But what truly makes this the best Tony Hawk game is that its soundtrack absolutely (skates and) destroys the rest of the series. NWA, Aesop Rock, De La Soul, Gang Starr, Public Enemy, Eyedea & Abilities, RUN DMC, AC/DC, The Distillers, Iron Maiden, Agent Orange, Flogging Molly, Goldfinger, The Cult. It's jam after jam after jam. The whole package still holds up.

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The Thighmaster